Coronation Street has dropped a surprise update on the soap’s veteran Gail Platt.
Gail Platt, portrayed by Helen Worth, first graced our screens in 1974 on the ITV soap. As the much-loved, often luckless mother of three, Gail rose to iconic status on the Street.
Over the years, she was central to a plethora of major plots, navigating through trials with her offspring David (played by Jack P. Shepherd), Sarah (Tina O’Brien), and Nick Tilsley (Ben Price), alongside shocking murders and scandalous affairs, making Gail’s Weatherfield life anything but mundane.
However, in June last year, fans were faced with the melancholy announcement that Helen was exiting the series, with the 73 year old actor expressing: “This year felt like the perfect time to leave the show after celebrating 50 years in the most wonderful job on the most wonderful street in the world. I made the decision at the start of the year and spoke to the producers, who were very kind and understanding.”
Gail’s departure culminated in her marriage to Jesse Chadwick (John Thomson), and on Christmas Day viewers were moved by an hour-long episode where she bid farewell to the cobbled streets and jetted off to France with Jesse to embrace a fresh chapter, reports Leicestershire Live.
While mentions of Gail have cropped up occasionally since her leave, there’s been a bit of stirring buzz following a family trip last month when David, Shona (Julia Goulding), and their children paid a visit to Gail.
After a series of nail-biting weeks for the Platts with their house going up in flames, David’s own life-threatening crisis, and Max (played by Paddy Bever) landing in jail due to David’s shady dealings with criminal Harvey Gaskell (portrayed by Will Mellor), there was finally a change of scenery for the family.
In the episode aired on Friday (April 25), David and Shona returned to Coronation Street after visiting Gail. Upon reaching Sarah’s place, David confessed he was relieved to return, noting Gail had been “doing his head in by the end of it.”
Shona responded cheerfully: “Oh she’s just happy,” leading David to question: “If she’s happy why does she have to ask us so many questions all the time?”.
To which Shona retorted lightly, highlighting the drama they left behind, “Oh because there’s quite a lot to catch up on: the house burning down, Max going to prison.” David pointed out that updates were sent via text, remarking, “Well we sent texts, she knew all that.”
While countless fans were thrilled to see David again, some expressed their “heartbroken” status over Gail’s absence. One fan from a Coronation Street Facebook fan page commented, “As much as I’m glad David is back, I was really hoping Gail would be there too.”
Another echoed the sentiment, saying, “Yeah I was heartbroken to not see her ngl.” And a third shared similar feelings, adding, “Same here. I keep expecting to see her pop up.”
